Immigration rogue on deck

Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie and James Massola

A convicted criminal who was found last month by the corporate watchdog to have impersonated a lawyer and engaged in other fraudulent behaviour remains licensed by the federal government to provide immigration advice.

A Fairfax Media investigation into serious failings in the nation's immigration system has also identified several new cases of alleged migration crime that were reported to the Immigration Department but ignored.

One of the cases involves a well-known Melbourne restaurant, whose owner is charging Indian nationals up to $50,000 in return for sponsoring them on 457 skilled worker visas to work in the restaurant's kitchen.

In another case, a Sydney lawyer has told Fairfax Media that, in April 2013, he was ''snubbed off '' after attempting to report to the federal government a case involving a corrupt IT company and a migration agent.

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This week, the Immigration Department has scrambled to respond to revelations by Fairfax Media about wide-scale rorting of the nation's visa system.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has demanded the department provide an urgent report on the allegations.

But the government has stalled the release of findings from an inquiry into the 457 visa scheme, with a spokesman for Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash saying only that the government was considering its recommendations.

Hundreds of pages of leaked and sensitive Immigration Department files obtained by Fairfax Media have revealed that entrenched failings by the agency's investigations arm has allowed migration rackets - including those with links to suspected terrorism and organised crime - to go unchecked.

On Friday, the department launched fresh investigations into a multinational contractor, Murphy Pipe and Civil, after revelations it was involved in skilled workers' visa fraud on major Australian resource projects.

The migration agent who remains licensed by the federal government despite being a convicted criminal and banned by ASIC is Rudy Noel Frugtniet.

His migration agent's registration allows him to charge visa applicants in return for giving them advice and dealing with the government and tribunals on their behalf. Only agents who are ''persons of integrity'' may be licensed.

Last month, ASIC permanently banned Frugtniet from engaging in credit activities after finding he had insufficient integrity to operate in the credit industry. Frugtniet had previously made a ''false declaration to the Migration Agents Registration Authority'' and had previously been ''misrepresenting himself as a lawyer''.

Frugtniet, who is appealing ASIC's decision, has a long criminal history dating back to 1978 when he was found guilty by a British court for theft, forgery, obtaining property by deception and handling stolen goods offences. He served two years in prison.

In 1989, Frugtniet was charged by Victoria Police with obtaining property by deception by allegedly tampering with the State Bank of Victoria's credit card facilities. The charges were dropped after a witness refused to co-operate with police.